Codename: Emerald
by Guardian Wight
Summary: Rill has just started his Pokemon journey. But now, he and his friends must halt the war between the Teams of Hoenen. But who is really pulling the strings?
1. Prolouge

**Disclaimer: Bzzz! Bzzz bzz!**

Wight: What the hell! Selena!

Rill: Wight, you are an idiot, huh?

Selena: Disclaimer, get back here!

_A Flygon zips back to the female trainer. Wight shakes his head._

Rill: There. Start over.

Wight: Fine. I don't own Pokemon, Case Closed, or anything else that actually makes money. However… I do own these idiots. _Points to Rill, Zech, and Selena._

The trainers: IDIOTS!

Wight: Uh, crap! LATER! _Runs like hell._

Prologue

Ten Years before the Present….

A nine year old Rillian pokes through the boxes filling his Slateport home. "Hey, Mom, would it be all right if I went for a walk on the beach? You know, before we move to Johto?" His mother looked at him, frowning slightly. "All right, hon. But be careful. We're supposed to get a bad storm tonight!" With a wave, Rill was out the door. "Sure Mom, whatever you say!"

Rill stood on the Slateport seawall, watching the ocean ebb in and out. On occasion, he would pick up a shell or skip a rock, but mostly he only watched the water, something he loved to do since he was a very young child. "I'm going to miss doing this, you know." This last statement was addressed to a small blue and orange creature that had slowly approached him, wagging its fish-like tail. "Kipp! Muuuuuudd-Kipp!" The creature, a young Mudkip (Duh!) exclaimed. Rill laughed as the small mud fish Pokemon rubbed against his human friend's leg. Rill and the Mudkip had met a year ago when Rill had discovered the Mudkip's egg floating by in the ocean. Ever since then, He and the mud fish had a special friendship, and would often spend hours staring out at the ocean together. It was their favorite activity to do together.

On the other side of the city, unseen by the duo, a dark line of clouds formed and began to race forward pushed by high winds and turning the land beneath it pitch black and soaked.

Across the sea, a massive serpentine creature stirred. Sensing it was needed; it opened its giant eyes and launched itself into the sky.

The first indication the duo had of the coming storm was a droplet of water that struck Rill right in the shoulder. Turning around, the boy and Pokemon saw the wall of clouds storm over them, enveloping them in the rapidly worsening storm. Rill, realizing he had to get out, grabbed the Mudkip and ran down the seawall towards his house. "Hang on, little guy!" He shouted to the blue critter. "KIIIIIPPPP!" It shrieked at him. Too late. The giant wave he was warning about, created in a sea tossed by angry winds, loomed over them, and then smashed into the seawall. Rill and the small blue fish were dragged into the sea as the wave retreated, the boy unconscious, the fish struggling to stay afloat and support the boy at the same time. Luckily, the wave took them past a rock sticking out of the sea and the powerful little guy grabbed hold of it with all four paws, anchoring itself and grabbing Rill's collar firmly, but the fury of the storm was too much. With a mournful cry, the little creature was swept off the stony projection and back into the raging sea.

High above the storm, unseen by everyone, the great green Pokemon streaked against the sky and, with a piecing cry, dove straight through the clouds and into the ocean, scooping up the storm tossed boy and Pokemon. Placing them on the shore, it checked on the young boy. Satisfied that he would live, it turned its head to the tiny blue fish. _Child,_ it said to the Mudkip in a voice too powerful to hear with your ears, only with your soul, _Are you well?_ The Mudkip looked with reverence upon the shimmering emerald goliath and squeaked an affirmative. The long creature nodded its great head. _Good. And the boy will be fine as well. He has an important role to play, later. And to this end, I will need your help. Will you watch over him, as his friend and protector? _Another affirmative squeak. _Good. Now, I leave you with my gifts to you both._ And with that, the green giant touched Rill's neck, and a silver chain appeared, bearing a pendant with an wedge shaped emerald gemstone set into it's center. It touched the Mudkip's forehead, leaving a green stripe that extended down its back. With that complete, the creature flew off again, fragmenting the storm in its wake.

Rill was discovered by his father's Feraligatr about an hour later. The Mudkip followed the anxious family back to the house, and when the boy had recovered, became his very first Pokemon, catching itself for Rill. As for the silver chain, Rill couldn't remember where it had come from, but as no one was claiming it, was allowed to keep it, without knowing what it was. And, so it was that out of a potential tragedy Rillian gained his first Pokemon, who he called Stormfin. Rill and Stormfin moved to their new home in Johto, unaware of the role that destiny had lay ahead of them…

Wight: Well, there you go. My first chapter of my fist fanfic. Feel free to review. But please, if you must flame me, have a reason. Don't just call me a loser. That just hurts.

Rill: Oh well. But you ain't off the hook, buddy. You'll pay for calling me an idiot.

Wight: Story of my life.


	2. Return to Slateport

Wight: Here we go again! Enjoy. And yes, I know the fic is rated T, I just haven't gotten to the stuff yet. But here's a warning: when I start, It'll snow ball _real_ fast. So there. Don't say I didn't warn you. Disclaimer, your on!

Discalimer: BZZ! Bzz bzz bzzzzzz bzzzz BUZZZZZ! Bzz, buzz! Bzz.

Rill: Translation, Wight owns nothing. Not Pokemon, Case Closed, or anything else that makes money and winds up in this. The loser.

Wight: I heard that!

Chapter One:

Return to Slateport

An enormous white ship cruised through the sea, slicing towards the large port city on the horizon. On the foredeck, a young man leaned against the rails, dressed in a white tee, black vest and blue jeans. An emerald wedge pendant lay suspended on a silver chain around his neck. At the moment, his silver eyes were smirking at the antics of his constant companion. "Alright, alight, calm down. We'll be in Slateport soon, Stormfin. It'll be nice to be back." The small Mudkip with an emerald streak down its back wagged its tail and squeaked and jumped up on his leg. The young man laughed. "Heh. All right. Let's get us some food. Maybe that'll distract you." Suddenly, he was distracted by a quick bark from behind. He chuckled and faced a black canine, a young but strong Houndour. "Heh. Yes, you get food too. Since when have I ever left you out, Witchfire?" The canine seemed to think it over, and then barked slyly. "Oh, yeah, fine. Bring that up. Like it was my fault you got couldn't follow us, you are the one who ate until he got sick!" The three friends walked down the deck towards the dining area, their conversation slowly becoming inaudible as they moved away.

Their places were soon taken by two other individuals, wearing unusual clothing. A young male, older than the one there previously, dressed in a blue and white striped tee, with a blue headband and pants. On the head band was a stylized _A_, seemingly made out of bones. His companion, a young female about the same age, stood at his shoulder, wearing a red caped garment with black ears on the hood and a volcano-like _M_. "I hope you have a reason for calling this meeting, Tabitha." The male growled. His companion favored him with a cold smirk. "Of course, Matt. This is the only place we can meet. After all, it certainly wouldn't look right for the Top Administrators of Team Aqua and Team Magma to meet in any of our Team held territories, now would it?" Matt glared at her, and then grinned evilly. "I guess not. Now, am I to assume you have the avatar of Groudon under your thumb, as I have the avatar of Kyogre? The idiots think that our plans are 'For the good of people and Pokemon!'" Tabitha laughed, a hypnotic but disturbing sound. "I know. It's precious. As if our plans could do anything but destroy." Her tone suddenly became serious. "What I called you to talk about though, is related. We are in the process of manipulating these two into conflict… But the legends, as scrambled as they are, seem to speak of not _two,_ but _three_ forces that were involved in the Origin!" "Matt's sharp breath displayed his shock. "There is another one? We must keep him from interfering at all costs. We fought too hard to get where we are. Nothing can stop us now. Our members must find and either eliminate or detain this new factor immediately." Tabitha grinned evilly, as well. "True. And when those two idiots unleash their creatures upon the planet, and realize the destruction they have caused, we will be the ones to rise from the ashes and no one will be able to stop us." The two evil Administrators laughed, then went their separate ways, to put their plans into motion.

Wight: All righty, kinda short. But it's picking up, I swear! Things are about to start, including the introduction of the other main charecters! Sweet, huh? Oh, by the way, there are about four main charecters. Some you've met, some that aren't in yet. This is not including Team members, too.


	3. Team Trouble!

Rill: Here we go! Finally, we get into the good stuff!

Wight Settle down, Rill. Aight, I don't own Pokemon. I just think it's really cool. However, Rill, Zech, Tara, Selena, Eileen, and Dr. Joshua Riser all belong to me. As do the personalities of their respective Pokemon. Additionally, I would like to thank Tony Dark for his review. Thanks, man. And everyone else, enjoy, and please review. Thanks!

Chapter Two

TeamTrouble

The dock was filled with tourists and the unloaded passengers of the white ship. Rill and his two friends walked down the boardwalk and into the city. Rill took a deep breath of the salty air. "Ah. Nice to be back, eh, Stormfin?" The blue creature squeaked in agreement. You can say that again, Rill! Witchfire looked at the two of them. I don't get it. It's the same to me. Rill smiled at the quizzical sound of the canine's bark. "Heh. Don't worry. To us, it's like going back home. We were born here. To us, it's special." He petted the canine's head. "C'mon. You just reminded me, mom and dad are waiting for my call. Let's go find a Pokemon Center."

Nearby, a girl Rill's age fled stealthily through the alleys near the Slateport Ocean Museum. She looked over her shoulders several times, though she missed the several people shadowing her, light glinting evilly in their eyes and on the assortment of chains, baseball bats, and golf clubs carried in their grips.

"No, I swear I'm not a Fing telemarketer! Ms. Tehatchi, please put my dad on the phone!" At that moment, Rill was having a bit of a problem getting through his father's secretary to his parents. "Professor Riser is rather busy. Can I take a message?" Just then, Rill saw a familiar face behind the elderly secretary's bland face. "Hey, hey, Fearfang!" His father's enormous Feraligatr pushed it's enormous face into the screen, throwing the secretary away. It growled happily at the sight of Rill, than ran offscreen to fetch his father. In the background, Rill could still hear Ms. Tehatchi. "No, no telemarketers I'm afraid. Can I take a message?" Rill chuckled, then returned his attention to the screen when his parents suddenly appeared. "Hey, Mom, Dad. How are you?" Professor Joshua Riser grinned. He looked exactly like his son, plus about twenty eight years and blue eyes. His wife, Eileen Riser, was slightly shorter and had dark black hair and gray eyes. "Hey, Rill. How are you?" Rill grinned. "We're fine. We just got in to Slateport a few hours ago and Witchfire reminded me to call. So, here I am." His mother chuckled. "How is Witchie?" She got her answer as a dark head pushed it's way into the screen and barked, and a blue head popped in from the other side. "I guess you're all doing fine then? Have you seen Zech yet?" Rill shook his head. "Na, mum. He's comin' up in a few days with Selena. We'll go from there." Suddenly, a siren began blaring in the background. Rill and his Pokemon glanced at each other, then at the screen. "I gotta go Mum and Dad. Talk to you later." Dr. Riser nodded. "Alright, son. Be careful. And Stormfin, Witchfire…" the Pokemon nodded to him. "Take care of my son." Affirmative growls met this, and then Rill said his goodbyes, fliped off the screen, and took off towards the sounds of the sirens, his Pokemon hard on his heels.

"Okay, okay. So I'm lost. I haven't been here in ten years. It's not my fault!" Rill stared back at the accusing blue face of Stormfin. "Fine, so it's my fault. I'm sorry." Suddenly, Witchfire's ears perked up and he stared at the figure of a girl clutching a package stumbling out of another alley, followed by a group of oddly dressed others. "Hey, mebbie they can help!" Suddenly, a thud rang out in the alley as one of the other's fists struck the girl and knocked her down. "Or… not. Let's go, guys."

In the circle of strange dreesed individuals, weapons glinted and were readied. "Give us the package, Aqua." Said the one in the lead, a large, brawny man brandishing a length of spiked chain. "AH, screw it. People are easier to search when they're dead, anyway." With that, he flung his chain at her, waiting for the fleshy splat that would signal his men to beat her to death. Instead… CLANG! Rill stood between the girl and her hooded assailants, wielding an iron rod he pulled from the trash nearby. "Heh. Rather rude of you, methinks. Where I'm from, we take a girl out to dinner on a first date, not beat her in a side alley." The leader of the gang snarled at Rill. "Stay out of this, Whelp!" "Whelp, eh?" Rill responded with a sneer. "Don't think I've ever been called that before. But you're welcome to try and enforce your threat, if you want." The leader signaled his team, and they struck at Rill in Unison. Rill responded by yanking the chain out of the leader's grasp, wrapping it around the baseball bat wielder's weapon and using his own momentum from his swing to yank the bat off to the side, wielder flying along with it. Rill the squared off with the other hooded thug, his pipe flying like a super fast sword. Rill finally managed to pin his opponent's weapon to the ground, and flew in and slugged him until he collapsed into unconciousness. Rill then swooped into his stumbling second opponent, and with one solid strike, launched him into dreamland as well. He stared at the leader. "Heh. Two down, one to go. Let's rock." His opponent glared at him. "Fine, boy. You have some skill, but it will take more than that to beat me. Fighting traditionally would wind up being too dull. And my Pokemon are more than a match for you. Let's go. For the glory of Team Magma!" The two trainers stared down at each other, and reachd to call their Pokemon. "Witchfire!" "Mightyena!" "GO!"

Wight: Hey, cool! My first cliffhanger! Sorta. All right, Thanks again for reading. Stay tuned! This is gonna be a doozy!

Rill: I am SUCH a badass! And apparently I have tourets. Still Fin cool!


	4. Dogfights and Phone Calls

Wight: Duh duh duh... Oh, crap! I'm on!

Rill: Heh. Moron.

Wight: Fine, jerk. Wait'll you see how I get you back. Author, 'member? Anywho... Oh, yeah. I own NOTHING! Not Pokemon, or.. uh, a car... or... stuff... Nevermind. Anyway, read up, and I'll see you at the end!

Chapter Three:

Dogfights and Phone Calls

"For the glory of Team Magma! Mightyena, go!" "Witchfire, let's rumble." The large Magma grunt and the silver eyed trainer glared across the alley at each other, as their released canines snarled at each other. Rill smirked coldly, and petted his Houndour's back. "Let's start this thing."

On a rooftop over the alley, a dark haired individual watched the fight with a dark grin. His shadow colored clothing concealed the rest of his body, but as he turned, several pokeballs of a strange, dangerous design faintly glimmered in the waning light of the streetlamps. He chuckled to himself. "So. I've found you, Rillian. From here, things get interesting."

Back in the alley, Rill's mind shot forward at a thousand thoughts per second, formulating and discarding strategies as fast as possible. _Mightyena are larger than Houndour normally, and this one is large for it's species. So I have to go with speed for now. And try to avoid getting Witchfire crushed._ Suddenly, his foe shouted as his snarling pet, "Mightyena, smother it! Take down!" The large hyena-like creature rushed full speed at the smaller dog, fangs and claws bared. Rill's eyes narrowed. "Witchfire, Faint Attack!" A second before the larger creature struck it, the Houndour shimmered out of it's way and tackled it from behind, adding to the Mightyena's momentum and slamming it into the alley wall, leaving a large, cracked impact crater. The Magma grunt cried out to his Pokemon "Get up! Bite it in half!" The creature wobbled to it's feet, then shook it's head with a snarl. Giving an intimidating howl, it jumped up on Witchfire's back and clamped it's fangs into it, prompting a squeal of pain from the smaller canine."Ha! Shred it, Mightyena!" "Witchfire, no!" Rill winced, then got an idea. "Flamethrower, dude. At it's face!" The smaller dog snapped it's pained face around and fired a stream of superheated flames at it's foe's face, but only managed to blast the edge of it's foes face. Surprised and hurt, the Mightyena gave it's foe a hard shake and threw it into the wall. The Houndour hit with a thud, and crashed into a set of trashcans sitting beneath it. "WITCHFIRE!" Rill's scream burst from him, feeling every injury that his friend was. The large grunt laughed and his Mightyena even had a self satisfied air. "Looks like you lose, boy. Now, Mightyena, kill it." The large canine stepped forward, then lunged at the prone form of Witchfire, fangs bared. However, it was intercepted mid-lunge by Rill, who took it's fangs on his arm, and Stormfin, who began hitting and Water Gunning it. Rill threw it off of him, and crouched before his hurt pokemon, holding his savaged arm. "Stay away from my Pokemon!" The grunt laughed evilly. "Fine, then. Mightyena, Kill them all!" The large canine leapt at the angry Mudkip, downed Houndour, and bleeding trainer… And was thrown back as an angry Witchfire leapt out from the pile of trashcans, a brilliant white light surrounding its body. Rill and Stormfin watched in awe as the light faded, and revealed a changed Witchfire. The pokemon had evolved, and now resembled, instead of the black Rottwieller it had, a black Doberman with horns extending from its head and ound up larger than the Mightyena it had been fighting. Rill looked on his friend with a new respect. "Witchfire?" The black dog looked back at him and gave him a quick wink, then snarled and launched itself at the gray hyena that had dared attack him and his friends. "All right, Faint Attack Witchfire!" The larger canine disappeared, reappearing behind the Mightyena and jumping on top of it. Rill grinned. "All right, let's finish this! Witchfire… OVERHEAT!" The horned canine pressed its muzzle to the other canine's neck, an orange glow building in its throat, and released a blast of flames even more superheated than it's flamethrower. The Mightyena collapsed, smoldering, and was returned to its pokeball right before its trainer fled. Rill watched his foe's form vanish into the night, then ripped off the short half sleeve of his tee shirt, to expose the rest of his savaged arm. "Heh… Ya know, it didn't seem that bad befo…" Before he could finish, his eyes rolled into his head and he collapsed, as his blood pooled out from the deep wounds on his shredded arm.

The girl, forgotten in the conflict, looked out from her hiding place while clutching her package tightly to her self. Turning her head slightly, she Came face to face with the distressed Stormfin. "Kippppppppp! Mud Mu muuu mud KIPPPP!" He begged her. She looked down at him. "I… I'm sorry. I have to go." She turned to leave, but was stopped by a tug on her pant leg. Looking back, she saw the little blue fish digging it's paws in and biting her pant leg to keep her there. Its eyes seemed to beg her to help. "Oh, screw it. You guys did save me. Help me get him to the hospital." With a lot of maneuvering, they managed to get Rill onto Witchfire's back fairly well, and they moved out in search of the nearest hospital.

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The hospital room was a lot smaller than on the television shows the girl had seen. And the fact that there were three people and almost as many Pokemon in the room didn't improve matters. "All right, one more time. What is your relationship with the patient, miss?" The girl rolled her eyes. "Once again, I have no relationship with the patient. He stopped a group of thugs from hurting me, and was attacked by one's Mightyena. I wanted to help him, too." The doctor sighed. "That's a shame. We were hoping you might be able to help us contact his family. We can't find his wallet with his information. But it's not that important. He's just going to be weak for a day or two. He's lost a lot of blood. We'll keep him overnight for observation. You are welcome to stay with him, if you like." The girl thought it over, and agreed. "It's not like I have anywhere else to go, anyway…" she thought to herself. The doctor nodded and excused himself, leaving her alone with the sleeping form of Rill and his Pokemon. She looked at the small blue Mudkip staring at her from on top of his trainer. "What have I gotten myself into this time?" She asked, half to herself. The blue critter chirped at her, as if to answer, and then called to the large wolf-like Pokemon lying next to the bed. It opened one eye, growled at the fish lightly, then walked over to the girl and dropped something into her lap. "What's this?" She asked them. She held it up, and recognized it. "A wallet? His wallet?" The Mudkip nodded. "What am I supposed to do with this? Do you want me to contact his family?" This time it was the Houndoom's turn to nod. "Why me? Why not the doctor?" At this, both creatures shook their head. The Mudkip walked over to the mall plant on the desk, and after a small Water Gun into the dirt, and began to write in the mud. "Oh, I see… Seeing a doctor after that conversation could scare them. So you two want me to call them and explain what's going on?" Affirmative nods from both Pokmon met her question. She sighed. "Fine. In for a penny, I guess. Let's go make a phone call."

She sighed. _Why me?_ She asked herself for the eighth time. "I'm sorry, no telemarketers allowed. Can I take a message? For English, please stay on the line." The elderly lady on the other side of the vidscreen seemed to be able to continue to talk forever, and showed no sign of hearing anything she said. "Look, ma'am, is there anyone else I could speak to? Anyone at all?" The old lady blinked, and started her speech over again. Just then, a large reptilian face popped into the frame, knocking the old lady over but not ending her rant. The Feraligatr roared, and was answered by a shout from the other room. Seconds later, a face filled the screen that caused her to double take. The man on the other side of the screen looked exactly like the young man in the room, only a little older and with blue eyes. "Hello, sir. Are you, uh, um… Rillian Riser's father?" The man's eyes narrowed. "Yes, I am Dr. Joshua Riser. Is my son in trouble?" "Oh, no, sir. Actually…He kinda… Saved my life." Dr. Riser's eyes returned to normal at this. "Oh, really? That's good. Where is he?" The girl fidgeted at this. "He's…" And her voice dropped to inaudiable at the end of this sentence. "My son is where, again?" Her cheeks burned. "The hospital." Dr. Riser jumped up at this. "What! Is he all right? I'll be thre right away! Are you still in Slateport!" "Please sir, calm down! He's alright! He just lost a lot of blood, so they want him to stay here overnight. And his Pokemon are with him, so he's well protected." The doctor took a second to compose himself, then looked at her again. "I see… So I wouldn't be able to do anything. And Rill would probably be angry with me for coming. Thank you for calling us." The girl nodded. "You're welcome. But It's really Rill's Mudkip you should really thank." Dr. Riser nodded. "I will when I see him. Thanks again. And have Rill call us when he gets better. Oh, I and I didn't catch you name either." The girl smiled. "My name is Tara Sedgwick. And I will. Goodnight, Dr. Riser." "Goodnight, Tara."

Tara: Took you long enough to get my name out there.

Wight: Sorry.

Rill: Well, things are going well. Congrats.

Wight: Yep. But It doesn't matter what I think, what matters is what you out there think. So Review, already! I'm starting to feel lonely. So please review.

Rill: Your pathetic.


	5. Friends New and Old

Wight: I do not own Pokemon. If I did, would I be writing this? No. Didn't think so. Anyway... I do own Rillian Riser, Tara Sedgewick, and Zech and Selena Lawley, as well as the personailites the pokemon exhibit. If that is a problem, I'll take it back.The pokemon themselves, however, belong to someone else. Lucky bastard. Anyway... Oh, yeah. One other thing. This takes place in a place where drinking is legal at age eighteen and my charecters are nineteen, nineteen, twenty one and twenty repectivley. Under age drinking is a bad thing.Also... Please review. Please?

Chapter Four:

Friends New and Old

The moonlight shines off of the water in Slateport Harbor. A young man and his female companion step onto the dock. The man is tall, wearing a long brown trench coat with a black stripe on the shoulders over a black tee and blue jeans, thin glasses resting on top of his head. The woman wore a purple tube top and black jeans, with a fishnet shirt over her top. The man looked at his companion. "He's here somewhere. Let's find him."

In the Slateport hospital, Rill twitched and sat up, rubbing his eyes with his good hand. However, when he opened his eyes… He came face to face with a small, lobster-like Corphish. "What the..!" His shout startled the creature, and it reacted the way it always reacted to threats. It used a particularly strong Crabhammer on Rill, but as it was sitting on his legs at the time… "HOLY GODDAMN MUTTHERFUGGIN….!" Tara, who had been out in the hall playing catch with Stormfin, ran in chased by the small blue creature. Once inside the hospital room, the two were greeted by Rill protecting himself with his good arm from the angry Corphish, and Witchfire barking in what seemed to be furious laughter. "Get this crazy lobster offa me!" Tara chuckled. "Okay, ya wuss. Tyr, Come here, baby." Hearing her, the little lobster scuttled off the bed and up onto her shoulder, where it continued to scold Rill. "Phish! Cor cor phish!" "Fine, you win, you win. Next time I wake up from a blood loss induced coma, I'll try not to startle you." Rill winced, and looked down at his arm. "So, ah… How long was I out?" The girl stroked Tyr's shell as she responded. "Well, not too long. Most of the day… and yesterday." Rill rubbed his temple with his good arm, then reached out and pet Stormfin, who had just climbed up onto the bed. "I see. Well, I don't suppose I could get the name of the woman I got myself messed up helping?" The girl looked at him. "Oh, that's right. We never did get to introduce ourselves. I'm Tara Sedgwick. It's nice to meet you, Rillian." Rill blinked, and stopped scratching Stormfin and began to rub Witchfire's head as Stormfin settled down and yawned cutely. "Hm. The pleasure is all mine. So, has anyone been watching my other Pokemon while I've been under?" Tara pointed to the chair in the room with them, which contained his Pokebelt and his normal clothes. "I've been watching Witchfire and Stormfin, and fed your others a while ago." Rill nodded, then took a second look at Tara. She looked nice in her blue tee, though her black jeans and jacket gave her a slightly tough look. "Thank you." Any farther conversation, however, was deterred by the sudden appearance of a rather large Charizard hovering outside of the window. The creature bellowed loudly, causing the room's occupants to cringe, and then dove for the ground. "What was that about?" Tara wondered. Rill groaned. "Oh, _crap_. He found me. He's not supposed to find me, not like this, anyway. I'm screwed."

Outside the building, the young man and woman watched as the Charizard dove towards them, then landed spectacularly with one of those really cool wind shock waves. "So, He's here, then Ares?" The Charizard bellowed again in the affirmative. The young man grinned. "Good boy. Let's go visit." With that, the young man returned his pokemon and entered the hospital with his companion.

Up in his room, Rill watched the door as Tara stared at him strangely. "All right, what was that about?" Rill groaned playfully. "Give 'im a minute and you'll see." As if on cue, the young man and his companion entered into the room. The man smiled. "Rill! The nurse told me you're in for blood loss? Wimp." Rill shook his head. "Tara, meet my cousin Zech Lawley and his lovely wife, Selena." At this, the other woman smiled. "Hey, Rill. How are you? And is that Stormfin and… Oh, is that Witchfire! Congrats! Oh, where are Blitz and Hacker?" Rill pointed to his belt on the chair. "Over there. I'm fine, and thanks. How're you two?" Zech answered this time. "We're fine. But enough about us. What I want to know is how a beauty like you, Tara, is doing with my cousin over there." Rill frowned playfully. "Hey, at least I didn't meet her when she had to pull me out of well I'd gotten stuck ass-outwards in." "Hey, we both agreed not to talk about that!" Tara chuckled at this, causing Selena to notice. "There we go. Never mind them. They're always like this. It's worse when their drunk, though. I'm Selena. It's a pleasure to meet you." Tara nodded and shook Selena's proffered hand. "Tara. The pleasure's all mine." Rill grinned. "Now that we're all introduced and friends, let's see about getting me out of here and this show on the road."


End file.
